Shane Hnidy (born November 8, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Between 2000 and 2011, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Thrashers, Anaheim Ducks, Boston Bruins, and Minnesota Wild. He is currently part of the Vegas Golden Knights broadcast team on Scripps Sports.

Playing career

Hnidy played junior hockey with the Swift Current Broncos and Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL. He was drafted in the 7th round (173rd overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, although he played no games for the team. After turning professional in 1996, he played for minor league teams Saint John of the AHL, Grand Rapids of the IHL, Cincinnati and Adirondack of the AHL before being traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2000 where he established his NHL career. He has also played for the Anaheim Ducks, Atlanta Thrashers and Nashville Predators. On January 2, 2008, the Boston Bruins acquired Hnidy and a 6th rounder in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft for Brandon Bochenski. On July 3, 2009, Hnidy signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Minnesota Wild to a one-year contract. As of the opening of the 2010-11 season, Hnidy remained an unsigned free agent. On February 23, 2011, it was announced Hnidy would be re-joining the Boston Bruins on a try-out basis. On February 26, 2011, Hnidy signed a contract with the Bruins for the remainder of the season, to serve as a depth defenseman. The Bruins won the Stanley Cup by defeating the Vancouver Canucks in a seven-game Stanley Cup Finals. Though his name does not appear on the Stanley Cup, he was awarded a Stanley Cup ring and was included on the official team picture. He was given a day with the Stanley Cup on August 18, 2011, and officially retired on August 31, 2011.

Post-retirement

Hnidy continues to give back to his home town of Neepawa with his support of the annual Shane Hnidy Golf Tournament, a significant fund raiser for the Beautiful Plains Community Foundation. From 2011 to 2017, Hnidy was part of the Winnipeg Jets broadcast team on TSN Radio 1290 and the colourman with Dennis Beyak during Winnipeg Jets games on TSN Television. Hnidy was announced as a color commentator for the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights for their 2017–18 inaugural season on August 16, 2017. Hnidy has also lent his voice to select regular season and Stanley Cup Playoff games on TNT/TBS since 2022. In April 2024, Canadian NHL broadcast rightsholder Rogers Communications announced that it had struck a deal to shift a portion of its rights – specifically the Monday night games played in Canada – from its own NHL on Sportsnet broadcast to Amazon Prime Video for the and regular seasons. In September, it was announced that Hnidy would alternate with Jody Shelley (both of whom have non-Prime NHL broadcast gigs) to provide colour analysis and interviews on Prime Monday Night Hockey, which launched with a game in Montreal on October 14, 2024.

Career statistics

Transactions